The speed at which Blu-ray players have become commodities is amazing. It’s easy to find a decent player at or below $100 these days, a fact sure to depress any manufacturer hoping for more than pennies of profit.

The key, of course, is adding in. Adding in aesthetics, for example. A manufacturer could spend some money making a product attractive in hopes of courting the looks-savvy consumer. Or, you could add in tons of the latest features.

Or, if you’re Samsung, do both.

In a sea of boring black boxes, the BD-D6700 stands apart. Its brushed-aluminum-looking chassis evokes thoughts of the high-end designs of Bang & Olufsen. There are no buttons on the touch-sensitive front display. There isn’t even a disc tray. Instead, the disc slides into the player like a car CD player. I am embarrassed to admit how long this took me to figure out. Read your manuals, folks!

On the features side, the BD-D6700 is not only 3D, but has the 2D-to-3D conversion circuitry that’s sure to be all the rage this year. Then there’s Samsung’s Web-connected Smart Hub interface, which is among the best out there.